Weekly paid rest allowance in Korea

A worker scheduled for at least 15 hours a week who attends all scheduled workdays may qualify for a paid weekly rest day. Estimate the hours and pay.

Source baseline 2026-10-06 · Estimates and reference information, not legal or tax advice.

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Use scheduled hours

Check the agreed hourly wage, scheduled workdays and scheduled hours rather than adding overtime or breaks. A hypothetical 14-hour contract plus six occasional additional hours is not automatically the same as a 20-hour contract; verify whether the agreement changed.

An irregular four-week schedule

For agreed hours of 12, 18, 12 and 18, the four-week total is 60 and the weekly average is 15. If the comparable full-time employee has 20 scheduled workdays over those four weeks, daily scheduled hours are 60 ÷ 20 = three. At KRW 10,320 per hour, paid rest pay is KRW 30,960 when the other eligibility conditions are met. Employment duration and attendance still need review.

Check salary inclusion and the tool’s scope

The proportional formula assumes a comparable full-time schedule of 40 hours and five days per week. Other schedules need their own assessment. Monthly salary may already include weekly rest pay; do not add the calculator’s result twice. Its monthly estimate uses 365 ÷ 7 ÷ 12 weeks rather than the actual number of payable weeks in a particular month.

Eligibility

The Korean paid weekly rest allowance (주휴수당) generally requires at least 15 scheduled hours a week averaged over four weeks and attendance on all scheduled workdays. A workplace with fewer than five employees is not automatically exempt from this rule.

Formula

For the tool’s assumed 40-hour, five-day full-time schedule: paid rest hours = scheduled weekly hours ÷ 40 × 8, capped at eight. Weekly paid rest pay = paid rest hours × hourly wage. Verify the comparable full-time schedule for other arrangements.

Example

At 20 scheduled hours a week and an hourly wage of KRW 10,320, paid rest hours are four and the weekly allowance is KRW 41,280, assuming all eligibility conditions are satisfied.

Points to check

A monthly salary often already includes paid weekly rest. Irregular schedules, leave and absences may require more detailed treatment. The calculator is an estimate for reference, not legal advice.

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Sources

The source baseline for this guide is 2026-10-06; individually rechecked sources show their own dates above. Laws and rates may have changed. Consult the originals before an important decision.